Well, it was supposed to be. Actually, the summit and our route there was enveloped in cloud most of the day. We found the gate locked at the forest boundary, 4 miles short of the trailhead, so we got an extra 8 miles which made for a fairly long day. The clouds cleared after 2:00 PM and we got good views on our way back. Climbed with SPer, MOCKBA.

This was a great trail, and also great for me because I could identify many types of wildflowers and wildlife here. Saw deers up close. Deseret Peak is unlike Wasatch mountains peaks due to the fact that the peak isn't surrounded by mountains. The view goes out to the great expanses of the Salt Desert and Salt Lake. Really awesome.

I did this hike alone on a rainy and cool August day like I have never seen before. From the trailhead at 10:00am visability was very poor and it was raining. For the first couple of miles I could only see a few hundred feet beyond the trail and had no idea where the summit was or even where I had started from.

At about the 3 mile mark, I passed three other hikers that like me, enjoy the misery of walking up hill in wet weather with poor visability. When I got to a ridge that leads to the summit, I became exposed to a ruthlessly strong and icey wind that was unrelenting. I slipped on my shell pants and insulated vest and pulled my hood up tight. I know now gloves may be needed in the warmest month of the year at 11000'.

I made the summit after about 30 minutes and spent about an hour there hopefully waiting for a clear view below. The view never materialized but the hikers I had passed, joined in for summit pics. My decent was via the loop that makes for an interesting trip never seeing the same scenery twice.

This mountain gives a different perspective of the Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake. Planned on doing the loop around the mountain but ended up taking a short-cut down a steep couloir. Big mistake as I had to slide down 1,000 feet of talus and route find my way back to the trailhead. It's best to stay on the trail.

It was raining in SLC, so I figured it would be snowing up on Deseret. It was just cloudy, but with very little precipitation to speak of. Every now and then, the clouds would lift off of the deck and I could see ridges and cliffs around me. I only saw three people on the trail going up, and a few more on the way down. It was chilly at the top, but no new snow was in sight. The Mormon Cricket invasion had spread as far as the top of the summit- the little bugs were so cold they could barely move. >=)

First time: A thunder storm swept up just as we obtained the saddle. We huddled together to wait it out, nervously joking about getting struck by lightning, when suddenly 3 ghostly figures appeared out of the clouds, stumbling down from the summit very slowly. Turns out, one of them had been struck by lightning 10 or so minutes prior! The poor fellow was apparently still in a state of shock, wearing the tattered remains of a yellow plastic poncho and one leg of his jeans blown apart in strips up to his thigh. One friend's head was bleeding from getting thrown into the rocks.

My brother subsequently ran all the way down the trail to the ranger station and obtained help, while we slowly hiked down with these guys. I think the strike victim was on the news a week or so later.

Second time: Wearily summited in the early evening, after climbing the Pfiefferhorn that same day. (My father's crazy idea.) Eerily enough, below the summit, we came across the spot where the fellow was struck by lightning the previous year, evidenced by the shreds of yellow poncho scattered about.

Fun day hike, I lost the trail in one of the many snow drifts and took a little detour to the saddle. Awesome views of Mt. Nebo 50+ miles away. And more Mormon crickets then I have ever seen in my life. If you do this hike some time before mid July An Ice Axe is well worth the added weight.

Bob Bolton and I had a perfect weather day for this one and saw only one other person on the trail. Clear views in all directions. This is a sweet hike, very enjoyable and now one of my favorites. We spent almost two hours on the summit, just soaking everything in.